


Uneasy Truce

by MysteryFicAnon



Series: Undertale Fic Requests [16]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bickering, Fluff, M/M, Minor Underfell Papyrus/Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Pre-Relationship, Spicyhoney - Freeform, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), dialogue prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:08:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25866463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteryFicAnon/pseuds/MysteryFicAnon
Summary: A late-night encounter based on this dialogue prompt from Breezles on Tumblr:“Not everyone is out to get you. Stop thinking that. It’s annoying.”“Good thing I didn’t ask for your opinion.”
Relationships: Papyrus & Papyrus (Undertale)
Series: Undertale Fic Requests [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1436539
Comments: 13
Kudos: 28





	Uneasy Truce

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Breezles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Breezles/gifts).



> Thank you to @Clenhian for beta reading and thank you to Breezles for sending a prompt in! It was fun to write, even if this ended up being more pre-relationship rather than spicyhoney. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

It was exactly 2:37 in the morning and Edge was just finishing up a patrol of the house. All of the doors, locks, and windows were properly secured, and none of the tripwires had been disturbed. He was alone, he was safe. They all were; his brother and his companions from the other universes. He had to protect them, to make sure they were all safe. Even if the machine was off, there was no way to prevent an angry human or monster from this universe that was trying to get revenge.

However, living with fellow Papyruses meant that he suddenly had to deal with a house full of light sleepers. Edge prided himself on stealth, but some days even his royal guard training wasn't enough to account for the hair-trigger that was a Papyrus’ sleeping state. He’d taken things slowly, trying his stars-damned best to keep silent.

Unfortunately, it seemed that tonight he hadn’t been quiet enough.

“What are you doing?” Stretch’s voice came from behind him, in the middle of the hallway. He’d just stepped out of his room, the door still ajar. The ducky bathrobe he had cocooned himself in would almost be amusing, if he didn’t look so irritated.

“None of your business.” Edge did his best to keep his tone of voice calm. He hadn’t actually gone to sleep tonight, but if he had, he would have been irritated at this kind of early-morning awakening too.

“Oh, for fuck’s— **Not everyone is out to get you. Stop thinking that. It’s annoying.** ” Stretch hissed, trying his best to keep quiet while still berating Edge. It was one of his favourite subjects to go on about: how needlessly paranoid Edge was, and how ridiculous the precautionary measures he took were. He wouldn’t last an hour in Underfell, but that didn’t matter to him. This was a softer universe, so Edge was the outlier here.

“Well, it’s a **good thing I didn’t ask for your opinion** on the matter,” Edge said testily, his own anger getting the better of him. In the daytime he might try his best to resist Stretch’s barbs, but he was at the end of his rope.

As soon as he spoke the words, Stretch seemed to backpedal. He got that awful kicked puppy look on his face, seemingly regretting his harsh words. It was almost laughable; such words were practically kind for Edge. That didn’t matter, though. All of the judges had a tendency to turn that strict moral code on themselves, and beat themselves up over every minor mistake.

Edge would just have to goad Stretch into redirecting his admittedly righteous anger back to its proper target. He stepped closer to Stretch, trying to bare his fangs even more so Stretch would feel threatened as usual. “If you are thinking of pitying me, I would advise against it.”

“Look, that’s not—I’m not getting back to sleep, and you probably aren’t either.” Stretch shrugged, but Edge could tell this movement was anything but casual. “Can’t we just call it a truce for one night?”

Edge just stared for a moment, shocked that Stretch would suggest such a thing. Of all the skeletons in this house, Stretch was the one monster who was always up for an argument. He could never let go of anything relating to Edge, relentlessly needling him over the sins of his past and the deeds of his present. It was some of the best verbal sparring Edge had ever experienced, and if Edge didn’t think Stretch profoundly hated him, he might have even enjoyed it.

“All right. Truce.” Before Edge could stop himself, he held out his hand. Another formality drilled into him from years of working for the army: always shake on a deal. A handshake wasn’t a promise, but a firm squeeze could show an enemy that you were strong enough to take them down if they tried to break it.

Stretch smiled crookedly, grabbing Edge’s hand and shaking it. His grip was loose and relaxed, more like he was holding Edge’s hand. Edge had seen this side of Stretch with the others: happy, relaxed, a jokester. Maybe, just for one night, they could try to get along.

Without speaking, both of them headed for the living room. The only time all the members of the house could be somewhat civil towards one another was movie night, so that was their best bet of getting along. Edge didn’t feel like he could sleep, and television was a good way to engage his mind without breaking his brother’s conditions about “not doing stars-damned paperwork at four in the fucking morning”.

Stretch put on a documentary series Edge had already watched three nights ago, but he didn’t say anything. He sat primly on the opposite end of the couch, and folded his hands in his lap. Stretch usually took up any available space on the couch for lounging, and even if it wasn’t nearly as endearing as a cat, Edge would tolerate it for tonight. That was the point of agreeing on a treaty.

To his surprise, Stretch instead chose to sit on the middle seat. He flopped one of his arms over the back of the couch, also carefully not touching Edge. He settled in, watching the opening credits roll with half-lidded sockets. Since the TV had been muted for sound considerations, the only sign that it was on was the blue glow reflecting on Stretch’s pearly bones.

Edge forced himself to turn back and watch the documentary. He didn’t want to be called out on staring and risk having Stretch take offence. He had meticulously noted the facts of the documentary last time, so he decided to try and follow the narrative the humans were trying to present. It was strange how they seemed to project emotional investment onto animals when their politicians couldn’t muster up enough care to properly integrate monsters into society, but Edge supposed that was one of the expected contradictions. Monsters were full of little idiosyncrasies, so Edge supposed it made sense that humans would be the same.

Right as he was actually becoming invested in the bird of paradise’s story, he felt something land on his shoulder. His magic flared and he tensed up, but he quickly forced himself to dismiss it. He glanced down to see what part of Stretch had flopped on to him, and his jaw dropped.

Edge stared incredulously at Stretch’s sleeping face, resting peacefully on his shoulder as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He might be tired, but Edge knew Stretch would never fall asleep in front of an enemy. No matter which Underground you came from, that was a horrible idea. Perhaps… Stretch trusted him more than he admitted.

As flattering as that thought was, this position was a bit uncomfortable. Edge’s shoulder was already beginning to go numb from the impeded magic flow, and Stretch was definitely going to get a crick in his neck if he slept like that. It would be better for both of them if Stretch’s head was resting slightly higher up on Edge’s shoulder, perhaps buffered by a pillow.

Edge shifted minutely, pausing immediately as Stretch let out a particularly loud snore. He’d already woken Stretch once tonight; he wouldn't do it again. Edge stayed completely still, settling himself in for a long night of mindless television. He would stay here, and make sure Stretch stayed safe as he slept. After all, it would be rude to abandon his frenemy while they were explicitly in a time of peace. Edge might be an uptight asshole, but he wasn’t _that_ kind of asshole. If he enjoyed being close to Stretch without their usual verbal barbs, then that was his business.


End file.
